by Mike Borchardt | Jun 2, 2023
Gorgeous Sapsucker (Art by Tali Rozensher)
Upon first bite, the barrage of percussive onslaught devouring itself from both ends of a sweet tooth, experimental noise-prog nerd punk duo, Gorgeous has a brand new record, and it’s sticky and gunky and jagged and perfectly broken. Out now via Sad Cactus Records, it deploys bigger, deeper distorted riffs this go-round, heavier bass elements with a more focused vocal intent than their previous releases. Graveled in its edges, it is visceral and organic in its execution without straying too far from the quirky charms and Helium-meets-Hella mathy swagger they do so well.
Gorgeous (photo by Michelle LoBianco)
After two leading singles, the lumbering and ominous “Raindrop” (see our thoughts here) and “Elbow Stress Rash,” their ode to isolation-fueled anxiety and its physical manifestations, Dana Lipperman (guitar, vocals) and Judd Anderman (drums) have only begun to scratch the surface across the breadth and depths of this work. There’s an ebb and flow, a pulse throughout the album that inherently feels like a live performance. Parts of it are overblown and fuzzed out, while others slick and shiny.
Much of Saspucker is wonderfully dark clouds; an intense storm passing across the beautifully ravaged doom organ, often ZOIA-esque circuit in landscape. It’s chorus in the land of monsters. On “Big Hands,” Lipperman declares “Hold my hand. Lick my fingers” before the tape slowly unwinds and drops into a sub bass universe. This is no longer your kinder gentler Gorgeous, it’s anxious and it’s chaotic. For songs like “Lovebug” and “New Paltz Waltz,” she pits subtle acoustic guitars against hard gated riffs and Anderman’s staggered heartbeat like some sort of ASMR jangle. A rare call to order, on “Keep it Steady,” the pair does just that, allowing the drums and vocals to carve out a brief moment of brewing balance and calm between the phased feedback and confusion.
Gorgeous live (photos by Kate Hoos)
Not to make a glass onion of things, but while Sapsucker is one of those records that indeed floors you from the get, further listens open new sonic textures as the layers rub and tear and wash against one another. Lyrically confident, it makes no bones in exposing vulnerable anxiety. And while also frenzied and complex—almost contradictory at times—the mood which you bring to your listening heavily shapes and colors the experience. There are spots where you can easily get lost in the fantasy realm to which it belongs, often the door-knocking of the kick drum the only thing tethering you back to the world. It comes full circle as the end is the beginning is the end leaving you fairly confident that Anderman is the sweet and Lipperman is the tooth.
Sapsucker is out now via Sad Cactus Records and available on Bandcamp and all major streamers.
by FTA Staff | May 5, 2023
Hi! Hello! Here we are with some bite sized goodies and a taste of a some new things that we dug that came out in the last two weeks (ish), quick fire responses to some great new music we think you should check out. Chantal [CW], Kate B [KB], Kate H [KH], and Mike [MB] weighed in on some killer songs and have the scoop on plenty of new tunes, give ’em a listen!
A Very Special Episode– 5 Dollar Cover. Roll call! Wearing your blackest clothes? It’s like they already got my number. I don’t know a single person left in Brooklyn’s music community that hasn’t already drank the very special kool aid, forcing our favorite grifters…errr purveyors of self discovery to expand their reach beyond NYC’s five boroughs and up the Hudson Valley. The noise trio made up of Kasey Heisler (vocals, bass), Patrick Porter (guitar, vocals), and Chayse Schutter (drums, vocals) teamed up with King Pizza himself, Greg Hanson, to direct a pleasant-on-the-surface but disturbing AF new video for the third single,“5 Dollar Cover,” off their forthcoming record Freak Me Out (June 23 EWEL Records/ Hidden Home Records).
Beautifully shot and wonderfully vague in placing its retro era, the video is really a visual work of art. Hanson and the band gathered much of the KP family and friends together for a classic dinner party graciously hosted by Heisler herself. Playing with themes of conservative American suburbia and mid-century modern imagery, this soirée almost immediately displays an undercurrent of something far more sinister. The seemingly innocuous gathering shifts quickly toward the dark and chaotic as Heisler and her minions entrance the group absorbing them into mind collective.
The song itself cleverly plays on many of the bandnames woven thru the Brooklyn DIY scene/Bandnada/EWEL fabric, but it’s in fact details like those that speak volumes to the trio’s constant dedication to uplifting and supporting the community of which they are a cherished part. Whether or not you want to meet them at the rock show, you can always definitely count on them to play way too loud, but never too long. [MB]
Bethany Cosentino– It’s Fine. Best Coast is now on “indefinite hiatus” and singer Bethany Cosentino is about to release her debut solo album, Natural Disaster. The first single is the twangy, pop rock “It’s Fine” and she shares:
“When I look at all the artists I find most influential, the common thread is that they take risks and continue exploring different versions of themselves. My goal is to keep growing and challenging myself and living outside any kind of box, to keep on evolving as an artist and a person. And if anyone’s feeling stagnant, I hope this record inspires them to see what else life has to offer. It’s really scary to take those risks and make big changes in your life, but what you find on the other side can be so magical.”
She also shares on the decision to take a step away from her best known project:
My identity as a human being, and as an artist, has been so wrapped up in Best Coast for over a decade. The decision to pause the project indefinitely, and explore a new side of myself, was a very difficult one to make—but it felt necessary for me. Life is too short to not give yourself what you feel you need and want. I am excited about being just Bethany Cosentino for a while and figuring out who I am outside of the “Bethany from Best Coast” box I’ve lived in for such a long time.
I look forward to learning more about who Cosentino is outside of “Bethany from Best Coast” too. Natural Disaster will be out July 28 via Concord. [KH]
Boris and Uniform– You Are the Beginning. When multi genre metal heroes Boris went on tour with industrial rockers Uniform in 2019, the two bands fell into the habit of sharing an encore, and something clicked. So what happens when these two relentless groups combine forces on a full-length recording? “You Are the Beginning” gives us a first taste. Heavy metal chug, otherworldly solo guitar lines, dueling vocals—this track is a solid mid-tempo headbanger for the first half, and then the tempo picks up around two minutes in, and a double-time/double bass-drum frenzy erupts. The rest of the song churns punishingly like the world is fucking ending.
Fittingly, Boris and Uniform recorded “You Are the Beginning” in July 2020, with the pandemic still raging outside the studio walls. Despite the impending doom, the mood of this track is triumphant and fun, controlled chaos, kind of like harnessing the power of several tornadoes and living to tell the tale. The full album, Bright New Disease, will be out on Sacred Bones on June 16. [KB]
Claud– Every Fucking Time. The lead single from Claud’s upcoming second album, Supermodels, is a slice of singer-songwriter indie rock that pairs a catchy guitar tune with their melodic voice, and also features a fun video co-starring comedian Grace Kuhlenschmidt. Supermodels will be out 7/14 on Saddest Factory Records (Phoebe Bridgers’ personal label—Claud was actually the first artist signed on); catch them live 9/12 at Bowery Ballroom. [CW]
_Corvallis– Slate Wall. The instrumental post rock/shoegaze project of songwriter Matt Irving is back with a new single, “Slate Wall” and it picks up where the previous single “Union” leaves off, giving us a hypnotic, almost funky intro before heading into the sweeping wall of noise guitar sounds that are hallmarks of the genre. Fans of Caspian or Red Sparowes will find a lot to love here. [KH]
Gorgeous– Raindrop. Last week, the newest track from Gorgeous (the only band that’s ever made me love to count) errrr rain-dropped into my Spotify rotation and has been on heavy repeat ever since. We first heard a rougher take of this track on a 2021 split the band did with EIEIO, but this slicker reimagining is now the first single off their upcoming LP Sapsucker due out on 6/2. Unique in both style and sound, the NYC duo who calls themselves “a pop band because rock is dead and experimental noise punk in half and waltz and quintuple shuffle time is a hard sell,” is back with heavier lumbering swagger.
There’s deeper riffage this time around, making for a much more ominous showcasing of Dana Lipperman’s thicker and complex octave guitar tones while drummer Judd Anderman still holds down the fractured spine and odd timing breaks for which the band is well known. Their late 2019 LP Egg was one of my favorite releases that exploded into my universe before the world from apart, and these early indicators suggest a darker monster awaits us on this next record, and I’m both thrilled and terrified for its release. [MB]
High Pulp feat. Daedelus– (If You Don’t Leave) The City Will Kill You. Jazzy, groovy, and glitchy all at the same time, this track takes a hard left turn at the end, as the LA experimental jazz collective keeps listeners guessing. From the upcoming album Days In The Desert, which features such guests as Brandee Younger, James Brandon Lewis and Jeff Parker, and will be out July 28th on ANTI-. [CW]
The Hives– Bogus Operandi. Oh man, I was so excited to click play on this, and I was not disappointed. Energetic garage rock with fun hooks and frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist’s charismatic yell? Sign me up. Almqvist had this to say on The Hives first album in over a decade: ““There’s no maturity or anything like that bullshit, because who the fuck wants mature rock’n’roll?” Fucking amen. The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons will be out on August 11, and The Hives will be live at Racket on May 16th. [CW]
Hot Face– dura dura. Riffy, psychy post punk from the London trio who was just signed by Speedy Wunderground. The song takes a big turn around the 2:30 mark with wild guitar and a frantic arrangement kicking in that I can only imagine will whip live audiences into a foamy frenzy. This is the band’s debut single for the label and its got my attention. [KH]
Leone– Kiss Em Bye Bye. It’s not going too far out on a limb here to say Richie Bee Leone has one of the most beautiful voices in all of New York City right now. Following the success of his queer glam rock band, Deitre, LEONE marries elements of dance and pop with a alt-rock delivery. Much of last year’s “(thisbodyisntmine)” served as a heartbreaking debut and stunning display of raw emotion and true vulnerability to pain and loss many artists dare not explore so publicly in their work.
“Kiss Em Bye Bye,” signals LEONE’s return with masterfully anthemic pop-rock debut single prominently showcasing the same sharp-witted silver tongued delivery. More than an open heart goodbye song, it screams fuck you and struts forward wearing its scar tissue draped across its shoulders like a magnificent armor against past lovers. Not only does it feel that Leone has arrived and hit his stride here, but now standing alongside Tarik Merzouk (bass) and Brian del Guercio (drums), LEONE also feels like they’ve hit their stride and the day is not too far off that everyone is going to come running to say hello. [MB]
Monograms– Hi Low. One of the things I love about Monograms is that they’ve continued to regularly churn out music for the better part of as long as I can remember. This not only makes for quite an expansive and robust catalog of music in which fans can immerse themselves, but also has allowed frontman and multi-instrumentalist, Ian Jacobs, to really hone and perfect their sound. “Hi Low” is a metallic post-punk tune layered with electro-dancy bursts that explode in pockets over the driving backbeat. Think Big Bliss meets New Myths but also landing somewhere between Joy Division and The Bravery, and you’ll have nearly tapped into the the synaptic fibers Jacobs has so expertly pressed and connected to build out the Monograms universe. [MB]
Rancid– Don’t Make Me Do It. I admit the nostalgia factor got me on this one. I also admit that Rancid is a band that I have honestly had more of a tepid relationship with over the years because I’ve never particularly enjoyed any of the singers in this band. I’ve often said if they just had someone else singing, if even for just the ska songs, I’d like them a lot more…alas. But this song did hit me in the right spot and I loved Matt Freeman’s slinky bass sliding out on top of the racket of the guitars right from the get go.
Tim Armstrong takes lead vocals and the rapid fire pace of the song lends itself well to his tone/style; Rancid did ska pretty okay, but the punk bangers are always where I felt they excelled the most. (Its the slow songs that really grate on me when anyone in this band is singing; they’re punk vocalists and should write songs that play to those strengths rather than try to stretch themselves to a place where their vocals don’t fit, but I digress.) This one doesn’t exactly invent the wheel for the genre or the band but that’s not what people listen to Rancid for these days, is it? It will scratch that street punk of yore itch and that’s enough for me. Taken from the upcoming album Tomorrow Never Comes out June 2nd. [KH]
Sleepy Kitty– Do It Without Me. St. Louis turned NYC duo (sometimes trio), Sleepy Kitty, is quickly moving toward their long anticipated follow up to 2016’s Flux aptly titled Blessing/Curse due out later this year. The band is currently in Europe for the Summer playing shows in the UK and Paris and recording new music. This is the second single from the upcoming album (see our thoughts on “Bigger Picture” here), and it is concertedly more subdued and full of brooding simmer than its predecessor. The steady undercurrent of quiet feedback is washed over in strikes of textured tremolo, but wastes no time building quickly unnoticed to the epitome of grungy pop goodness.
Paige Brubeck (guitar, vocals) wonderfully layers her voice as the song opens up on the chorus, but it’s Evan Sult (drums) that continues to push the track forward and eventually pulls the whole thing sideways spinning into crescendo. The final minute of song is a storm of tightly wound chaos that Sult expertly unwinds unraveling into abrupt resolution. Sleepy Kitty is exploring exciting new song structures on their latest work without sacrificing their hook-driven pop sensibilities and still retaining the post-90s alt/indie elements that make them so damn good. [MB]
Strange Ranger– She’s On Fire. This song begins with floaty, effervescent synth ripples and a Cure-esque guitar hook, and by the time Isaac Eiger’s vocals kick in, you’ll be dancing, but wistfully. All four members of the band weave electronic layers throughout the song, playing with dynamics and complexity throughout the track for dramatic effect. In a statement from the band, Eiger describes the new single as an exploration of the disillusionment of growing up, and the realization that music is a grounding force in his life:
“When you’re young, it feels like life has a kind of arc to it and up ahead in the future, there’s some point where all your experiences converge and this fog of confusion will lift and you will have arrived. This is definitely not true and increasingly, music is the steadying hand I lean on when looking for meaning.”
The song has a mysterious video directed by Ben Turok, featuring the band on a night road trip through various parts of New York City. “She’s On Fire” is the second single off of the upcoming full-length release, Pure Music, due out via Fire Talk on July 21. [KB]
Suzie True– Keep in Touch. This is an incredibly catchy pop-punk song about having a crush that lives hundreds of miles away. The vocals start out dreamy and soft, but then the chorus kicks in with stronger guitar riffs, and the lyrical longing turns into frustration with the distance: “Maybe it’s just a stupid dream / I know you’d never change your life to be with me…I just wanna be touched, this distance is too much / I think of you all day and it fucks me up.” The single has an absolutely adorable video directed by Rae Mystic, which comes off like a sugar high at a slumber party full of giggles. Long distance heartache is actually fun with Suzie True. “Keep in Touch” is the second single off of the L.A.-based trio’s forthcoming album, Sentimental Scum (June 30 via Get Better Records). [KB]
Sweeping Promises– Eraser. I’ve been waiting for this single (and the forthcoming second album) from Sweeping Promises for a couple of years now, and at last, it’s here! “Eraser” begins with Lira Mondal’s fantastic voice (harmonizing with herself), and then the beat kicks in, Caufield Schnug’s guitar thrums with rhythmic precision, and the song bounces off the walls with the near-perfect post-punk energy we’ve come to expect from the duo now based out of Lawrence, KS. New developments in their sound here are a more prominent exploration of synths in the mix, as well as keen attention to how their recording environment impacts their sound. The band now lives and records in a large, airy studio in Kansas with high ceilings, and you can hear the natural reverb of their new space in “Eraser.” The full album, Good Living Is Coming For You, will come out on June 30, a co-release from Feel It and Sub Pop. [KB]
TEKE::TEKE– Doppelganger. These Canadian psych rockers just keep building excitement for their next release, Hagata. “Doppelganger” is a laid back, cinematic tune that brings to mind 60’s spy movie soundtracks with trembling guitar chords and moody woodwinds. Maya Kuroki sings about seeing our reflection in other people (“we’re all doppelgangers that don’t look like each other / but from the beginning / perhaps we’re all the same / each our own body / each our own story“) and I keep turning the line “outside the aquarium is the ocean” over and over in my head. Hagata will be out via Kill Rock Stars on June 9th. [CW]
by Kate Hoos | Apr 20, 2023
Cool Kids Belong Together: A Tribute to “Fever To Tell” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (art by Dima Drjuchin)
Being a true music nerd who cut her teeth and cemented her music tastes/habits in the the 90s and early 2000s, I am a huge fan of a comp to tell a story—of a scene, of a label, of a moment in time—and a covers comp is perhaps the best way to tell the story of a landmark album and the impact it had on a city. And even more than that, the mark it made on the cultural landscape of DIY music within that city and how its legacy continues in the scenes that exist today because of it.
Just in time for the 20th anniversary of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs debut album, Fever To Tell—which was released on 4/29/2003—the Brooklyn music community has created just such a comp to pay tribute to, and tell the story of, the album and the creative seeds it sowed, inspiring countless musicians in the two decades since to blaze their own musical paths and forge unique sonic identities. Twelve bands in all have left their individual marks on each song from the now classic album, interpreting the songs in new and compelling ways, just as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs did with their fresh retelling of rock music that ended a decade of grunge and nu metal, and helped kick off an indie rock revolution.
Jon Daily (who plays drums in Kissed by an Animal and sings in The Black Black) is instrumental in running the DIY spot East Williamsburg Econolodge aka EWEL which also serves as the nucleus for the scene that created the comp. He shared that the idea arose like many great DIY ideas do, when shooting the shit after a show: “A handful of us were just talking after an Econo show one night and the idea of putting out a cover album compilation came up. We thought it’d be a fun project and a good way for a bunch of us all to be on a record together. I always loved comps when I was younger and first discovering independent music. It was a great way to hear a bunch of bands and I would usually end up getting a full length from one or two of the bands on it. We wanted to do a record by a New York band that we all loved and that was perfect the entire way through. Kasey (from AVSE) suggested Fever To Tell, and we pretty much all went, ‘Yeah, that’s the one’.”
And thus began the process of coordinating the project, picking the bands and doling out the songs as well as recording, all of which speak to the commitment all of these bands have to DIY and the special place it holds in our lives. Working around full time jobs, partners, kids in some cases, and numerous other commitments, the bands all came together to make this comp a reality. Daily shared on the selection process: “We asked bands that were around Econo Lodge—hanging out there and playing shows there. Unfortunately there were more bands we wanted involved than there were songs on the album so we originally planned to ask other bands to do other YYY tunes, but the project started ballooning and we had to limit it to the twelve songs on the album. Hopefully we’ll do another comp soon and we can get more bands involved. Once we had all the bands on board we asked them to rank three or four songs from the album that they wanted to do. And then we just kind of mixed and matched to get to a place where we felt like everyone would be reasonably happy and where we felt like we’d have a cool mix of styles and approaches.”
The comp also got the blessing of the band and Daily told us that drummer Brian Chase was “very supportive and got that we were doing this from a place of love,” adding “I was really impressed that he listened to all of the songs and he seemed to be into it.”
Daily also related that the album was an big inspiration to his younger self and said, “Today, being an active musician in the DIY Brooklyn scene, and being a part of making this tribute, really feels full circle for me. While the records I make with my bands don’t have the impact that FTT did and don’t sell even in the same ballpark as that record did, the fact that I’m part of a community that can come together and make this record is mind blowing to me. If people take one thing away from this release, I hope it’s the power of community. There’s no way I could have done this by myself, nor would I have wanted to. It’s the support and the excellence of craft of the people in this community that made this happen.”
Perhaps most poignantly, he also reflected on the place of love that made this tribute possible and what it means to be creating DIY art and music in an increasingly hostile world, in a city that has so radically transformed—and not for the better—since Fever To Tell was released: “To me, the DIY ethos and the community around that is so important right now. We are living in a world that is increasingly dominated by global media. We are constantly inundated with incredibly talented people pushing their very highly produced entertainment at us with tons of money fueling that push. It’s very easy to feel like nothing we would make is worthwhile because it won’t be able to compete at that level. But it’s so important for us to express ourselves in creative ways, because if we can’t, that energy ends up coming out in destructive ways,” a sentiment anyone who has a creative bone in their body can surely agree with.
He went on to say “I find the act of creation to be incredibly soothing—it helps me feel worthwhile on this very crowded planet where it is very easy to feel not good enough and unvalued. I see the creation of art in a local community as part of a self fulfilling creative cycle. Just because I can’t write a song that gets a million plays on Spotify does not mean it’s not worth it for me to write that song. It’s worth it to me, and it’s worth it to the community that I live in, because it helps me feel good, and I use my own good feelings to support those around me to make their own art and so forth and so on.”
This comp is indeed full circle and beyond for the musicians who had a hand in making it, a true love letter from the DIY community of NYC. You can’t ask for a more fitting tribute than that.
Cool Kids Belong Together is available now for digital pre-order from EWEL Records and has also been pressed as a limited run vinyl edition for Record Store Day available in local shops or direct from EWEL.
Tracklisting:
- Ilithios (ft. Ana Becker)- Rich
- The Black Black– Date With the Night
- Phantom Handshakes– Man
- Gorgeous– Tick
- Desert Sharks– Black Tongue
- Nihiloceros– Pin
- Shadow Monster– Cold Light
- A Very Special Episode– No No No
- DDMD- Maps
- The Royal They– Y Control
- Kissed by an Animal– Modern Romance
- Awful Din– Poor Song
by Kate Hoos | Jul 10, 2021
VACANT COMPANY
Putnam Palace is a backyard DIY spot that we have featured before and I am happy to report has been continuing to host shows. As I’m sure most readers are aware, DIY spots are constantly under threat of being shut down, tail end of a pandemic or not, and sometimes don’t last very long before they are interfered with. Thankfully they are still going strong (though currently taking a bit of a break during the hottest parts of the summer) and put on an incredible anti 4th of July event on Saturday 7/3 which I really had an absolute blast at.
The bill was a bit of a mixed bag stylistically, but those are really my favorite kinds of shows and always have been. The weather was cool and overcast which made the outdoor show environment that much more pleasant; it was sooo much better than broiling 90 degree heat. I definitely used that to my advantage, getting very into “the zone” while I was shooting, particularly for Vacant Company‘s set. This was the first time I was seeing all four of these bands and it was such a treat because I fell in love with all of them immediately.
Grungy duo Shadowmonster kicked things off with a set of tunes packed with dissonant guitar and complex drumming- as a drummer myself I found myself constantly trying to study the stick work (and thinking to myself that I need to practice more, ha!) and watching for patterns in the intricate fills. Lyrically the songs were poignantly angsty- many dealing with depression and isolation- which is something everyone can relate to at some point in their lives, and particularly over the course of 2020 into 2021. Many of the songs hit close to home for me in that regard.
Vacant Company was up next and played a set that was nothing less than explosive from start to finish. They hail from Raleigh, NC (though their singer splits time between BK and Raleigh) and were unflinchingly political and beautifully intense. With hints of early Fugazi, and the clear influence of Slint in their sound, they also very much reminded me of that particular style of 90s post hardcore that had a bit of an artcore bent ala a band like Swing Kids. This band would have been right at home on Dischord in that era- hell they still would be today! To say I was absolutely floored would be an understatement and it took me a few days to get over it really; I had their EP Decolonize on repeat immediately, not wasting any time and starting on the drive home.
The mathy duo Gorgeous hit the stage next and I was supremely impressed that front woman Dana Lipperman was not only singing in a sweeping, at times operatic voice, but finger picked each and every song. I can barely handle shouting some atonal noise and playing guitar at the same time without screwing something up, and I can’t touch any stringed instrument without a pick, never mind doing all that she was doing and doing it so well. With the clever rhythmic push and pull back and forth of the guitar with the busy and commanding drums, I was even further impressed and I’ve been listening to their 2019 album Egg quite a bit since the show. (I also love that apparently the two members of this band met in 6th grade science class, forming the band many years later in 2017)
TVOD aka Television Overdose closed out the day and was the most fun band of the show with their special brand of “high energy disco-punk songs for your heart and soul.” I definitely got my head bop game going while the rest of the crowd danced (I can NOT dance) and it was a really cool way to close the show. I loved the dance punk vibes and definitely felt and appreciated the Q and Not U influence. The drummer of TVOD also is instrumental in running the shows at Putnam, doing sound for the events, so on point that sometimes he will even hold the mic for backing vocalists!
Live music is central to my core being as a person and while I love seeing bands in many different settings, nothing quite gets to my heart like a DIY show. I am thankful that spots like this exist and continue to survive despite pretty much anything the outside world happens to hurl at us all.
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
SHADOWMONSTER
GORGEOUS
TELEVISION OVERDOSE
VACANT COMPANY
